USA > Mississippi > Mississippi : comprising sketches of towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form Vol. III > Part 25
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still in a prosperous condition and having a good support. Since 1890 Colonel Davis has lived practically retired, enjoying that dig- nified repose which is the just reward for years of earnest endeavor along normal and legitimate lines. His years rest lightly upon his head and he is a type of the courtly, generous and kindly Southern gentleman of the old regime, honored and venerated by all who know him or who are familiar with his career. He has ever given a loyal support to the Democratic party but has never been a seeker of official preferment. He has been a member of the Baptist church since he was eighteen years of age, and he has always been a liberal contributor to the various departments of church work, hav- ing also built the church of this denomination in Macedonia and having presented the same to the society. He is a Royal Arch Mason, having been identified with the fraternity for many years. Colonel Davis has been thrice married. He first wedded Miss Elizabeth Willingham, who died without issue. He later married Miss Bettie Harris, who is survived by one son, Prof. D. H. Davis, who resides in Sherman and who is also the owner and operator of a large plantation in Washington county. Colonel Davis' third marriage was to Miss Mary Ann Gayle, and they have three children: Ella, who is the wife of Hon. D. C. Langston, of Sherman; Lulu Key, who is the wife of I. W. Hale, a representa- tive member of the bar of Pontotoc county, residing in Sherman ; and Thomas D., who is engaged in the practice of law at South Mc- Alester, I. T.
Davis, William H., M. D., of Bond, Harrison county, was en- gaged in the active practice of his profession in Mississippi for forty years, having taken up this humane vocation soon after the close of the Civil war, in which it had been his to do equally faith- ful service as a soldier of the Confederacy. His labors as a phy- sician and surgeon were exacting and insistent, were attended with success and brought him into prominence as a leading member of his profession in his native commonwealth. Dr. Davis was born in Jasper county, Miss., Oct. 18, 1844, and is a son of Daniel W. and Emeline (Wilcox) Davis, native respectively of Clarke county, Ala., and Hinds county, Miss. Dr. Davis was reared on the homestead plantation and was afforded the advantages of the common schools of the locality, while he early determined to prepare himself for the profession in which he has labored so long and acceptably. When the South sought to protect its inherent rights and the Confederacy was formed, resulting in the outbreak of the Civil war, Dr. Davis left the routine duties which had theretofore engaged his attention and tendered his services as a soldier of the Confederacy, enlisting as a private in Company F, Eighth Mississippi infantry, which was assigned to the Army of the Tennessee and with which he continued in active service until victory crowned the Union arms, having par- ticipated in many important battles, together with innumerable skirmishes and other minor engagements, the history of his regi- ment constituting essentially the record of his faithful and valiant career as one of the brave soldiers of the gray uniform. He had
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previously initiated the study of medicine and after the close of the war he entered the medical department of Mobile college, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1866, receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine and coming forth admirably equipped for the work of his chosen profession. He initiated this work by locating in his native county of Jasper, where he remained five years, at the expiration of which he removed to Laurel, Jones county, being the first physician to take up a residence in the town, and he there built up a good practice, which engrossed his attention until 1880, when he removed to Purvis, which is now in Lamar county, organized since that time, and five years later he established himself in practice in Bond, where he made his home until his death and where his practice was of representative character and where his record was one of distinctive success. The doctor was a stanch adherent of the Democratic party and was a member of the Baptist church; his wife, who survives him, also being a member of that church. On May 17, 1866, was recorded the marriage of Dr. Davis to Miss V. C. Thomas, daughter of John and Emma (Merrill) Thomas, of Jasper county, Miss., and the children of this union are eight in number, namely: William H., George D., Sue, Julia, Della, Dora, Daisy and Bessie.
Dent, Albert Tatum, is numbered among the representative members of the bar of the State and is engaged in the practice of his profession in the city of Macon. He was born in Noxubee county, Miss., March 25, 1863, and is a son of William and Mary Cooper (Witherston) Dent, the former of whom was born in Oglethorpe county, Ga., and the latter in Hale county, Ala. A maternal ancestor, Captain Dobbins, served under Gen. Francis Marion in the War of the Revo- lution. William Dent took up his resi- dence in Noxubee county, Miss., about 1843, and was one of the early settlers of that section of the State, where he developed a fine plantation and where he passed the remainder of his life. He died in 1877 and his wife survived him by many years. He was a son of Richard Dent, who was a soldier during the Seminole Indian war, in which he made a record for gallantry. Albert T. Dent secured his early education in the public schools of Macon and then entered the University of Mississippi, which he left in his junior year, on account of impaired health. Later he took up the study of law in Macon, having excel- lent preceptorship, and he was admitted to the bar in 1884, since which time he has been engaged in the active practice of his pro- fession in Macon. He has attained to distinction and has a clientage of representative order. In politics Mr. Dent gives an unqualified allegiance to the Democratic party. In 1884 he was elected mayor of Macon and gave so popular and able an administration that he
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was chosen as his own successor at the expiration of his first term and was urged to run for a third term, an overture which he de- clined. He later served as a member of the board of aldermen and he has served as city attorney since 1902. He is a member of the Mississippi bar association and is affiliated with the Masonic fra- ternity, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Knights of Pythias. Both he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church, in which he is an elder. He is a trustee of the Mississippi Agricultural and Mechanical college, at Starkville, an office to which he was appointed in 1903, and he is a member of the executive and finance committees of the board of trustees. He has been a member of the State senate, in which body he made an admirable record. On Sept. 8, 1887, Mr. Dent was united in marriage to Miss Anna Dent Minor, daughter of Dr. Henry A. and Mary Anna (Dent) Minor, of Macon, and of the nine children of this union all are living except one. The names of the children are here entered in the' order of birth: Henry Minor, William E., Albert Tatum, Jr., Mary Cooper, Emmet C. (deceased), Francis Washington, Launcelot Longstreet, Lucien Witherspoon and Emmet Roy.
Dorroh, Zachary T., of Macon, is the popular incumbent of the office of chancery clerk of Noxubee county and is a representative of one of the honored pioneer families of this section of the State. He was born on the homestead plantation in Noxubee county, May 28, 1847, and is a son of William and Jane Gordon (Baird) Dorroh, the former of whom was born in South Carolina and the latter in Georgia. William Dorroh was one of the first settlers of Noxubee county, where he took up his residence in 1832, and he was present at the treaty made with the Indians in the following year. He purchased a large tract of land from the government and became one of the extensive planters and influential citizens of the county. He died in February, 1870, and his wife survived him by several years. Zachary T. Dorroh passed his youth on the home plantation and at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war he was a student in Bloomfield academy, in Kemper county. In 1864 he withdrew from this institution to enter the Confederate service. He enlisted as a private in Company F, First Mississippi cavalry, which was a part of the State militia and whose service after his enlistment was all within the State of Mississippi, under command of General For- rest. John and James Dorroh, elder brothers of the subject of this sketch, were valiant soldiers in the Confederate ranks. Mr. Dorroh continued in the service until the close of the war, when he received his parole. For a short time thereafter he was employed as clerk in a mercantile establishment in Macon, after which he returned to the home plantation, with whose operation he was identified in an active way until 1886. In 1884 he was appointed deputy sheriff, and in 1889 he was elected sheriff of his native county, remaining incumbent of the office six consecutive years and making an ad- mirable record. In 1895 he was elected clerk of the chancery court of the county and he has since held this position by successive re- elections. Mr. Dorroh is a loyal adherent of the Democratic party,
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is affiliated with the United Confederate Veterans, the Masonic fraternity, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Knights of Pythias. He and his wife hold membership in the Baptist church. At the time of the erection of the present fine court house, Mr. Dorroh was a member of the building committee. On Feb. 11, 1873, he was united in marriage to Miss Laura McDonald, daugh- ter of Allen McDonald, a well known resident of Noxubee county. Mr. McDonald was born in Scotland and was an infant at the time of his parents' removal to America. The family located in Alabama, where he was reared to maturity and whence he came to Noxubee county, where he passed the remainder of his life. Mr. and Mrs. Dorroh became the parents of six children, namely : Nellie (deceased), William (deceased), Iva Lamar, Lillie, Lallie Whitsitt and Ethel.
Downs, Alfred B., who resides on the fine homestead plantation, one mile south of Arcola, Washington county, is a representative of one of the well known families of the State and in the paternal line is a great-grandson of William J. Vick, a sketch of whom ap- pears in this volume, who was the founder of the city of Vicksburg and who was the father of Letitia Booker Frances (Vick) Downs, the mother of the father of the subject of this review. Mr. Downs was born in the city of Chattanooga, Tenn., March 21, 1887, and is à son of Alfred C. and Clara M. (Buckingham) Downs, the former of whom was born in Vicksburg, Miss., May 21, 1860, and the latter of whom was born in the State of Georgia. Representatives of both the Downs and Buckingham families were patriot soldiers in the War of the Revolution, and John R. Downs, grandfather of him whose name initiates this article, was a member of the historic Revolutionary organization, the Society of the Cincinnati, and by virtue of such membership Alfred B. now inherits the membership in the order, which was founded by officers who had served in the War of the Revolution. Alfred C. Downs was one of the able and influential members of the bar of Tennessee and was engaged in the practice of his profession in the city of Chattanooga at the time of his death, which occurred Feb. 19, 1906. He made his home on his plantation in Washington county, Miss., where his death oc- curred. He was graduated in Central university, Danville, Ky., in 1880, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and in 1883 he was grad- uated in the law department of the famous University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, from which institution he received his degree of Bachelor of Laws. His widow maintains her home on the planta- tion in Washington county, Miss., as do also the two children, Letitia Vick Downs and Alfred B. Downs, the latter of whom is the immediate subject of this review. The remains of the honored father were laid to rest in beautiful Bellevue cemetery at Danville, Ky. Alfred B. Downs was afforded the advantages of the schools of Chattanooga and of Washington county, Miss., after which he was matriculated in his father's alma mater, Central university, Danville Ky., where he pursued his academic studies until he had entered the junior year, when he was called home on account of
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the death of his father. He is at the present time assisting in the adjustment of the affairs of the estate (1907) and when this duty is completed he will complete the prescribed course in the law de- partment of the Central university and enter upon the active work of the profession which his father so distinctively honored and dignified. He is a stanch adherent of the Democratic party and is a communicant of the Protestant Episcopal church.
Dunn, Joseph Turner, of Eupora, Web- ster county, is one of the representative , members of the bar of Webster county and is now serving on the bench of the Fifth judicial circuit of Mississippi. He was born in Greensboro, Choctaw county, Miss., July 20, 1867, and is a son of Capt. Joe B. and Missouri (Brantley) Dunn, the former of whom was born in Autauga county, Ala., July 11, 1825, while the latter was born in Greene county, that State, March 16, 1828. Col. Joseph Dunn, great-grandfather of Capt. Joe B. Dunn, was an officer of the Continental line dur- ing the War of the Revolution and met his death near the close of the struggle for independence. The maternal great-grandfather, Maj. Archer Burton, was also an officer of the patriot army, and was wounded in the battle of Camden, N. J. On April 1, 1861, Capt. Joe B. Dunn responded to the call of the Confederacy and enlisted as first lieutenant of Company D, Fifteenth Mississippi infantry, and he was promoted captain of his company, while he was later transferred to the cavalry arm of the service, for which he raised a company, of which he became captain. He was with his command in the campaign through eastern Ten- nessee and Kentucky, and took part in the Vicksburg campaign, in- cluding the battle of Chickasaw Bayou. He was mustered out of the service in 1864 and was appointed Confederate tax collector for the Sixteenth district of Mississippi, in which capacity he served until the close of the war. Judge Dunn completed a course in the. University of Mississippi and then entered the law department of Cumberland University, at Lebanon, Tenn., in which he was graduated Jan. 15, 1891, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. Immediately after his graduation he entered upon the practice of his profession in Eupora, Webster county, where he has since maintained his residence and where he succeeded in building up a large and representative professional business, extending into the State and federal courts and concerned in matters of important nature. He continued in practice until Sept. 22, 1904, when he was appointed circuit judge, to succeed the late Judge W. F. Stevens, by whose death the vacancy was caused. On the bench Judge Dunn has shown that mature wisdom and intuitive judgment which, as conjoined with thorough knowledge of the law, tend to produce the ideal judge, and his rulings have been marked by fairness and
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impartiality, governed by equity and the law involved. Though he has ever been a stanch advocate of the principles of the Demo- cratic party and has lent an effective aid in furthering the party cause, he has never been an applicant or candidate for any office save that of which he is now incumbent and which is more pro- fessional than political in its nature. Judge Dunn is identified with the Masonic fraternity and the Sigma Alpha Epsilon college fra- ternity, and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, as is also Mrs. Dunn. On Feb. 9, 1893, was solemnized the marriage of Judge Dunn to Miss Eudora DeLashmet, daughter of Baldwin and Adelaide (Burns) DeLashmet, of West Point, Miss., and they have three children-Missouri, Joe and Mary Ward.
Durham, Edward M., is one of the representative citizens and prominent business men of the city of Vicksburg, and he has been actively identified with the manufacturing of cotton-seed oil in Mis- sissippi for nearly two score years. Mr. Durham is a scion of one of the stanch clans of Scotland, being a descendant of the well known Durham family of Largo, Fifeshire, and he himself is a native of the city of Edinburgh, where he was born Jan. 8, 1846. He is a son of James and Elizabeth B. (Gibson) Durham, both of whom likewise were born in Edinburgh, the former Jan. 7, 1801, and the latter July 24, 1805. The subject of this review received private school and university education and was twenty-three years of age at the time he immigrated to the United States. He was one of those who early began the development of the cotton-seed oil business, with which he has been identified since 1874, and he is now president of the Refuge Cotton Oil Company of Mississippi, representing one of the leading enterprises of the sort in the entire South, and was the first president of the Interstate Cotton-seed Crushers association. He has attained to marked success as a business man and has large capitalistic interests in Vicksburg and elsewhere in the State. He is a member of the Vicksburg country club and with the St. Andrew's Society at Memphis, Tenn. His religious views are in harmony with the tenets of the Protestant Episcopal church. On Sept. 17, 1874, Mr. Durham was united in marriage to Miss Emily A. G. Perkins, daughter of Albert G. and Emily W. Esther (Dashiell) Perkins, of Franklin, Tenn., and the children of this union are five in number, namely: Edward M., Jr., E. Esther, Elizabeth B. G., Mary P., and De Liesseline A.
Eskridge, William Scott, who is living practically retired on his fine plantation, near Charleston, may consistently be designated as the Nestor of the bar of Tallahatchie county, where he was actively and successfully engaged in practice for nearly a half century, and he is now enjoying that otium cum dignitate which is the just re- ward for years of earnest, fruitful and worthy endeavor. Mr. Esk- ridge has passed the age of four score years but his mental powers are unimpaired and his physical prowess would be creditable to a man many years his junior. To him is accorded unequivocal confi- dence and esteem and it is consonant that a brief review of his career be entered in this work. He was born in Albemarle county, Va., Jan.
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15, 1825, and is a son of James Wood Eskridge, who was born at Winchester, that State, May 26, 1797, and of Jane Jefferson (Peyton) Eskridge, who was native of Albemarle county, both fam- ilies having early been established in the historic Old Dominion. James W. Eskridge continued his residence in Virginia until 1834, in October of which year he removed with his family to Mississippi and located at old Shongelo, Carroll county, one mile west of the present thriving town of Vaiden. There he was engaged in mer- cantile pursuits, also operating a large plantation, until 1845, when he removed to Lexington, Holmes county, where he was engaged in the hotel business for the following decade. He passed the closing years of his life in the home of his son William S., of this review, near Charleston, where he died April 2, 1882, his cherished and devoted wife having preceded him into eternal rest. Both were earnest and consistent members of the Presbyterian church and they made their lives count for good in all relations. William S. Esk- ridge was afforded the advantages of the excellent academy formerly conducted in the vicinity of Shongelo, in Carroll county, where the late General George was his classmate for five years. At Lexing- ton, this State, he read law under the preceptorship of Walker Brooke, an able and very successful member of the bar of Holmes county, and he thoroughly fortified himself in the science of juris- prudence, being duly admitted to the bar. In February, 1847, he initiated the practice of his profession, in Greensboro, Miss., and from that time forward to the present he has never entirely with- drawn from the work of the profession, in which he has attained to so high a prestige and success. For four years he was located in Coffeeville, Yalobusha county, and Dec. 27, 1855, he took up his professional work in Charleston, near which thriving little city he now owns a fine plantation, which has long been his home. He became one of the most influential members of the bar of Talla- hatchie county and at Charleston, the county seat, built up a large and representative practice, having for many years been concerned in much of the important litigation in the courts of that section of the State. Within recent years he has lived semi-retired, and since 1867 he has been successfully identified with agricultural pursuits, his homestead plantation, near Charleston, being one of the model places of the county and one whose attractions he fully enjoys in the declining years of his long, honorable and useful life. Mr. Eskridge manifested the most insistent loyalty to the Confederacy when the Civil war was precipitated on the nation. In 1861 he en- listed for service in the cause, having personally organized the Tillatoba Grays, a company in Pinson's regiment, First Mississippi cavalry, and later he organized a second cavalry company, which was assigned to Ballentine's regiment, Armstrong's brigade, in Gen. W. H. Jackson's division of the Western Army. He was made cap- tain of this company, known as Company I, and continued in active service with his command until the close of the war, having taken part in the battle of Shiloh, the spirited engagement at Coffeeville and in many other conflicts marking the progress of the war. He
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has given an inviolable allegiance to the Democratic party, of whose principles he has been an effective exponent. He was a member of the lower house of the State legislature from 1861 to 1864, inclusive, during the critical period of the war, and again became a member of the same body in 1886. He was a member of the State constitu- tional convention of 1890, and has ever shown a lively interest in all that touches the material, civic and political welfare of his home city, county and State. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the United Confederate Veterans, and for many years has been a member of the Presbyterian church, with which his wife also was prominently identified. On March 29, 1848, was solemnized the marriage of Captain Eskridge to Adeliza Deolva Platner, daughter of Seth C. and Emily (Frazier) Platner, of Choctaw county, and of the six children of this union five died in infancy. The only living child, Addie S., is the wife of Carter J. Robinson, and they reside on the old homestead plantation with her father. Mrs. Eskridge, a woman of noble and gracious character, remained as the devoted companion and helpmeet of her husband for more than half a century and was summoned to the life eternal July 6, 1902. Her gentle consideration and sympathy gained to her the affectionate regard of all who came within her sphere of influence.
Easterling, Wyatt, a successful young real estate dealer of Meridian, was born in Newton county, Miss., Feb. 12, 1882. He is a son of Cleanthus and Sarah Francis (Caraway) Easterling, the former born in Jasper county, Miss., in 1857, and the latter in Newton county in 1859. The son was educated in the public schools of Meridian, receiving a certificate of graduation from the same in 1904. At different times, during vacations and after school hours, he was employed as a clerk in the grocery store of Suttle & Mars, with the A. M. Watts Wholesale Fruit Company and as a traveling salesman for a tobacco firm. Recently Mr. Easterling established a partnership with W. D. Hawkins under the firm name of Hawkins & Easterling and since that time has dealt extensively in real estate, handling both city and county property. This partnership has since been discontinued. In his political relations Mr. Easterling is a Demo- crat, but has never held nor aspired to office. Fraternally he is a member of the Woodmen of the World and of the F. & A. M., Blue Lodge, Meridian, No. 308. He is also prominently identified with the Epworth League, the young people's society of the Methodist Episcopal church, having served as president of the local society for one year. Mr. Easterling is a young man of sound business judgment, absolute integrity and hearty, genial manner and a suc- cessful future is predicted for him. Mr. Easterling has entered Millsaps college at Jackson, Miss., taking the A. B. course prepara-
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tory to the study of law with the expectation of entering the law department of the University of Mississippi at Oxford.
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